Ryuzaki's Tale
by Hanabi Nanami
Summary: Redone. At one point, it was mentioned that Ryuk had dropped his Death Note in the living world once before. What would happen if a human had picked it up? What would happen if that same person became acquainted with young L?
1. Chapter 1

I sat alone, as always, in front of my tree at the back of the yard. The tree was the only friend I really had. It never talked to me, for obvious reasons, but it was a good listener…which, I guess, was all I needed in those simple days. I sat with the shade hiding me in the shadows. I preferred the darkness of it…the solitude. I could do anything without being bothered by the other children my age, who were playing games in the bright midday sun. I never played with them, for they thought I was…different…strange…not like I cared, not that I wanted to play with them anyways…

I looked over, above the tall wrought-iron fence and the sickly green ivy vines that covered it like a thick blanket, and marveled at the rooftop of the manor next door to the orphanage. I mostly only saw the rooftop, due to the fence and trees all around. Though, once in a while I could catch a glimpse of the manicured lawn from my bedroom window. The finely crafted rooftop trim was enough to pique my interest as to what the rest of the manor might look like. Though it was not like I was going to be viewing it from the inside…even though I sometimes imagined what it might be like to live in such a place. With the ornate decorations, and ivy slowly climbing over the building, surrounding the windows with thick vines that urged to find its way inside.

I could hear many voices from over there, along with the sharp sound of a ball hitting a racket, most likely tennis…which I observed that it occurred nearly daily. I used to play…I wonder why I stopped As I wandered through my endless thoughts, I was caught off guard by a rouge tennis ball, which found its way through the ivy, in between the iron bars, and rolled its way over to me, stopping after tapping my foot. I picked it up, and stared at it curiously…although I have yet to recall what interested me so much about a worn out tennis ball…

The ivy leaves rustled as someone dug through them, obviously looking for something. From a space in the thick greenery, I saw a pair of deep, blue, almost daemonic eyes looking through. I stared at them, as they stared at me. The deepness startled me, it was almost like some kind of void. They say the eyes are a path to the heart…if so, these eyes must belong to someone utterly heartless. The vines were gently pulled back with tiny, pale fingers, to reveal the face a small girl. Just a girl? She didn't seem quite right. She stared at me with a shy smile, and turned her gaze to the ball I was tossing around in my hands.

"This ball is yours, right?" I asked her, as she looked back to me. She nodded to me slightly as to answer my question with a 'yes'. I slowly stood up, walked over to her, and cautiously extended my arm to present the ball to her. She slid her hand gently between the bothersome rust, and received the ball in her small hands.

As she took her hand and the ball back behind the wall of ivy, she said in a quiet voice, "thank you." She smiled at me, and then looked away quickly. I nodded in response, and she turned away and left. I watched her through the hole as she skipped back merrily back to a

I simply nodded in return, and she turned away and left. I leaned forward and looked through the hole which she had looked through. I could have achieved my desire of looking more at the manor on the other side of the fence…but I found myself more inclined to watch the girl skip merrily in her short, white dress…which I found oddly alluring…back towards what appeared to be a tennis court, where she continued playing with a guy she addressed as Annie. Then…I went back to my tree…as if nothing had happened…

That was my first encounter with the girl I learned to be named: Ryu-saki Sora…


	2. Chapter 2

In the late summer of that year, there was a devastating fire which engulfed the Sora manor. Disastrously, there were no survivors of the horrific inferno…except for Miss. Ryu-saki Sora…

She was taken in at the orphanage soon afterward, and apparently she was intelligent enough to meet the qualifications. Normally, I would keep my distance from such a person, a genius like me or not, but…having prejudice against the girl already…I felt the need to keep an eye on her…

After losing ones family, a person is expected to be grieving and depressed, but…that was not the case. It puzzled me, she seemed slightly relieved and optimistic…as if some great burden had been lifted off her shoulders. I could not fathom the cause of such behavior. Unless…perhaps she did not like her family. No, not liking someone isn't enough for a person to relish their tragic deaths. Could it be possible…for her to have been the cause of the deaths?

The firefighters that arrived after the blaze became uncontrollable, afterwards suspected the inferno to be caused by faulty wiring laid down while to old building was remodeled many years before. They said, a circuit overloaded, and multiple chain reactions…caused a catastrophic event… It seemed for me to be far too coincidental to be an accident. So much erroneous wiring…all breaking down at once…

Ryu-saki's odd behavior progressed, as she became more and more isolated. I remember, I was on my way to the cafeteria to find some cake to snack on…when I overheard a conversation from her room. Obviously, I had to listen in. I placed my ear against the door, and focused to hear the voice of the person she was speaking with. But…there wasn't one… She didn't share a room with anyone, and no one had their own private phone in their room. She was talking to herself, not that it was that which bothered me. Doesn't everyone talk to themselves once in a while?

She was only saying half of a conversation, as if someone was responding to her. I pressed my ear closer to the door to hear her exact words:

"I am perfectly safe now. What would I have to fear?"

"…" (indicates when someone would be responding to her)

"I have no worries about that happening. You heard the report the firemen made: it was a multitude of faulty wiring set up when my parents had the building renovated, that's it. The system just happened to break down all at once."

"…"

"Yes, it was a tragic loss indeed, but a necessary one. After all," I could've swore I heard her giggle. "accidents happen."

"…"

"What do you mean? At the door?" I heard her footsteps approaching the doorway. I was fully aware that I could not decently hide with the limited time I had. I knew I had to improvise. Just as she opened the door, I pretended that I was about to knock. "Um hi…" She looked at me with a curious expression. "You're the one from by the tree, right?" I nodded. "Can I help you?"

I never really approved of lying, but…some situations require it. "I was about to go get some cake at the cafeteria, and I was wondering if you like to join me?"

"Cake? Hmm…" she looked away as she thought about it. "I suppose I could, just this once…"

I had planned on keeping an eye on her from a distance, in case she tried any funny business. It was then I realized: she made it into Wammy's, so this girl's no idiot. I knew I would have to get closer to her to find out what was going on in her head. After hearing her conversation with herself, I was nearly convinced she had something to do with that fire. I needed more information to work with. I knew I would have to, with much grief, become her…"friend".

After both of us stood there awkwardly for the next few moments, I finally said, "So, are you coming?"

She snapped out of her deep thinking. "Oh, um yea. One second, please." She went back into her room and picked up a black notebook off her desk, being sure to hold it tightly in her hand. I noted her odd, over-protectiveness of it…but perhaps it was just a diary. On the other hand, nothing could be ruled out. "I guess we should go now."

"Yes…"


	3. Chapter 3

**Ryu-saki's POV**

Cake? It was quite a peculiar invitation…it seemed more of a cover-up to me. But, who was I to judge? Perhaps, that was just the type of person he was. In any case, I figured it would be rude to turn down such a generous offer, so I accepted it.

It was awkwardly quiet as we made our way to the cafeteria. I was never the type to start up a conversation, and apparently, neither was he. But, I suppose it wouldn't be quite honest of me to say it was completely quiet. Unknown to anyone else, the shinigami, Ryuk, was almost constantly blathering on about something. Usually about his newly found obsession for apples, which I have never understood.

This time though, it was different. He kept going on about the person I was walking with, about how he had a bad feeling about him. His views were not mutual, because I never found any reason to be against him. Ryuk insisted that he knew too much, or that he listened at our conversations behind the door. I never found out if either of these were true, not that it mattered. I wouldn't have done anything anyways. After all…what could I do? Kill him? No…that would be ridiculous… I would never kill someone for my own benefit, even if it meant being caught…for the truth…

There was no one in the cafeteria, except for us of course. So, we just took some cake out of the fridge and sat ourselves down at a table. He actually started talking, but I think I somewhat annoyed him, having to continually ask him to repeat himself…because, Ryuk would not stop asking if he could get an apple. …crazy shinigami…

"So…what should I call you?" he asked, trying to start a conversation, while sitting in his odd position, which his knees pulled up against his chest. It never bothered me that he sat that way, though it did look uncomfortable. It was strange, but I had grown used to strange things…with my parents. No, parents…that would not be the right word to describe them…they were the birthgivers…yes…but they were not parents.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I mumbled. "Well…I suppose you could call me Ryu".

He grinned. "Ryu? No…that simply won't do." His grin faded into a bored stare. "It's too similar to your real name. Anyone who tried to figure out who you are could easily go through a census and narrow it down to you by simple deduction." He paused for a moment, and bit his thumb nail. "Ryu, is simply an abbreviated for Ryu-saki. In England, that name is very rare, especially for a girl. If someone made that simple connection, it would lead them right to you."

"Oh….right," I sunk down in my chair, a little embarrassed of the fault which I had so carelessly overlooked. "I suppose I didn't think of it that way."

"Hmm, I'm not surprised that you failed to look that far ahead," Now, that was slightly uncalled for. "Next time that you need to make such a critical decision, I suggest that you look at every possibility."

"So, what do you suggest?"

"Something less obvious, but still along the same line of Ryu. How about something like…Rin?"

"Rin?" Rin….Japanese for companion…a hint to his thought? No, too obvious. "I like it. So…" I muttered, looking down at my place, while just pushing around a strawberry that had fallen off the cake. Honestly, I wasn't hungry at all… "So…what should I call you?"

This seemed to through him for a loop. He must've not expected me to return his inquiry. It wasn't a pointless question, even though I could see his true name, and the date of his death floating overtop of his head. But, every person in Wammy's house went by an alias. Even though they mostly knew my name, I didn't care. It was all over the papers. After all, I was the only survivor of a wicked inferno that killed every other member of my immediate family. But enough about that… "You can call me…Lawton." (1) Lawton…hmmm…like many of the Wammy's house children, he too used a name similar to his own. Perhaps it's easier to remember that way…

By that time, he…or should I say Lawton…had already finished his cake. I looked up from my plate to find him staring blankly at me. I was startled at first, but said, "Um…you're staring at me…again."

"Oh, I am? I hadn't noticed."

"May I ask, why?" I said, leaning back slightly to put some more distance in between us.

He slowly lifted up his finger, and pointed it…not at me…but at my plate. "Are you going to finish that cake?"


End file.
